Also known as Shihuan and Shifan, it is the main local music in Fuzhou. In the early years of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Marquis Zheng Luoying's "Bamboo Branch Poems on Yuanxi Yuanxi in Rongcheng" said: There are many people in the Minshan Temple at night, and the moon outside the Minshan Temple is the door; betel nut teeth make tobacco pouches, and the disciples are "shifan" in the field. Its musical instruments include 13 types of flutes, pipes, shengs, coconut shells, large and small gongs, large and small cymbals, cloud gongs, langzhang, wooden fish, sandalwood boards, and clear drums.
Shifan music developed from the percussion of dragon lantern dance. Most of its tunes are based on the relationship between nature and society, reflecting certain artistic conceptions. Some also express ancient legends and stories. At first, only percussion music was used. "Fu Tao", "Diliu Shui", "Qian Pai" and other gongs and drums, later "Fu Tao" developed into four sets of "Fu, Lu, Shou and Xi"; "Qian Pai" developed into "Wen Qian", "Wu Gan" two sets. Shiban music is also known as "Shiban", "Five pairs", etc. It is named after ten musical instruments made of silk, bamboo, leather, wood and gold. Hakka Shifan music is folk instrumental music passed down by Hakka folk artists from past dynasties. Its music titles mostly describe nature and Hakka people’s living customs and interests, such as "Clear Waters and Mountains", "Lake Lights and Willow Colors", "Good Flowers and Full Moon", " Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum and Bamboo", "Song of Orioles and Dance of Swallows" etc.
Tracing the origins of Shiban
Since there are multiple versions of Shiban music in real historical records, it is still impossible to verify the era in which it was produced. It is said that in 1779, the forty-fourth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, there was a "Shiban" competition in Nanxianchang in Fuzhou City, where various tunes such as Fu, Lu, Shou, Xi and so on were played, which spread throughout the ten cities of Fujian and Fujian. During this period, it was already a very mature folk music, with 13 kinds of musical instruments including flute, pipe, sheng, coconut shell, big and small gongs, big and small cymbals, cloud gong, langzhang, wooden fish, sandalwood board, clear drum, etc. Later, silk and bamboo were added. Wind instruments. The birthplace of "Shifan" is in the Chating area of ??Fuzhou. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a musician named Wang who was engaged in making musical instruments. His shop was named "Tianhuazhai", with a shop in front and a factory in the back. At that time, music lovers often gathered together to make friends through music. , exchanging skills and promoting the development of "Shifan" music. The grand occasion of that year is still fondly mentioned by many old people. There is the Ancestral Temple Theater near the tea pavilion and the open-air south school field, which is convenient for various classes to compete in competitions, with thousands of participants. Whenever a music club program is performed, on the stage, the drums of various troupes and clubs are singing in unison, dragons and tigers are fighting, and in full swing; below the stage, the people in the market are excited and intoxicated. Think about this lively scene, the high-pitched, melodious, bright and smooth music The tune seems to be still in the market and has never been lost.
According to the description of "Bamboo Branch Poems on Evening Bamboo Branches in Rongcheng" in Zheng Luoying's "Shaoxuzhai Poems" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty: It is night in the Minshan Temple, and the moon is shining outside the Minshan Temple. Betel nut teeth make tobacco pipes, and the disciples compete ten times in the field. This shows how popular Shifan music was among Fuzhou folk at that time. Long time ago, dragon lantern dance was popular among people in Fuzhou. Later, the percussion that accompanies the dragon dance gradually separated and became an independent art form. The five musical instruments used include wolf sticks, large and small gongs, and large and small cymbals. In order to avoid the monotony of the five-piece musical instrument combination, people added orchestral instruments such as flute, douguan, and yehu, as well as clear drums and cloud gongs. In order to achieve a balance in volume, each orchestral instrument is equipped with an even number, forming a double flute, a double pipe, and a double Hu. There are about ten types, and the band is basically formed from this.
The birthplace of Fuzhou Shifan Music is Chating, which is located in the north of Taijiang District and is a famous handicraft street in Fuzhou City. According to Zheng Luoying’s poem describing Shifan in the poetry collection of Shaoxuzhai Poetry during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, “Bamboo Branch Poems on Evening in Rongcheng” recorded in the poem: It’s night in the Minshan Temple, the moon is shining outside the Minshan Temple, and the betel nut teeth are growing. Tobacco bag, the children compete ten times in the field. These verses are enough to reflect the lively and joyful atmosphere of Shifan music among Fuzhou folk at that time. It also records that Fuzhou Shifan music had reached great scale during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and was popular in Fuzhou City. Obviously, it first became popular in cities and gradually spread to surrounding rural areas and the five districts and eight counties of Fuzhou. It has also spread to Ningde, Jianyang, Nanping, Gutian, Fu'an, Zhurong and Xiapu.
Era Development
"Western Fujian Hakka Shifan Music" has been circulating for a long time, during which time it has continuously absorbed and integrated local Sheyao ancient music, Han opera, Chu opera, Chaozhou opera, Tea-picking opera, puppet show music and even religious music are used to enrich themselves, forming a very profound artistic accumulation and rich and colorful artistic styles. It is said that the total number of tunes once reached more than 1,000, but many are now lost. There are less than 300 ancient "Gongchi Pu" that can still be found and those collected, notated, and mimeographed in the 1950s and 1960s and passed down; and today, there are less than 100 songs that are still circulated and performed among the people.
The spread of Fuzhou Shifan music is astonishing. It gradually occupied the vast rural market in the way of "city surrounding the countryside". So by the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, it not only spread to all districts and counties in Fuzhou, but also spread to Ningde, Jianyang, and Nanping counties. In the 1920s and 1930s, Fuzhou Shifan music experienced a peak period of development. At that time, the Shifan troupe not only visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, but also performed in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and other places. Teach skills. Half a century after Chen Yingmu and other ten-stage artists took to the stage, they still had sparks colliding with each other. As for participating in provincial, municipal and district-level art evenings, folk performances and even winning awards, receiving national and overseas music industry experts, Chen Yingmu can name a lot. Experts from all over China and the United Kingdom, France, Japan and other countries have almost reached a complete understanding of Shifan music full of local flavor: Shifan music has Fuzhou local characteristics.
"Western Fujian Hakka Shifan Music" is widely circulated in urban and rural areas of Western Fujian and is deeply loved by the masses. In both towns and villages, there are almost all troupes that perform shifan music, most of which are amateur groups for self-entertainment. Band societies in some areas are also quite famous, such as the "Shanghang Folk Music Group" in Shanghang and the "Old Soviet Area Chinese Orchestra" in Yongding. A large number of famous folk artists such as Huang Huazi from Liancheng and Wen Fulin from Shanghang have emerged. In the early 1950s, the famous Shiban music "Mountains and Flowing Waters" performed by the "Shanghang County Folk Music Group" was selected by the province to participate in a performance in Beijing, and was highly praised and won an award.